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A small study said swaddling babies may be calming and keep them on their backs during sleep but it also could make it more difficult for them to awaken, a factor linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

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Bayer has released its Didget meter, a device that measures a child's blood glucose level and reinforces consistent testing habits by awarding points that players can use to advance to new levels in Nintendo games.

The Department of Agriculture is working on a draft guidance aimed at eliminating the use of fatty acids DHA and ARA in organic baby formula in response to complaints about their inclusion in the official list of ingredients for organic products in 2006. Activists said that regulators failed to seek public comment on the Bush administration's decision to include the synthetic fatty acids among the non-organic ingredients allowed in organic foods. The safety of the additives has not been a cause for concern.

Extremely premature infants, born before 24 weeks in the womb, have not seen significant gains in survival over the past 15 years, study data showed. Researchers said more of these babies are actively being treated but improvements in survival is measured in hours.

Parents working for large employers might have to wait until 2011 to extend coverage of their company's health plan to their 20-year-old children in line with the new health care reform law. Because large employers that operate their own health plans are not required to offer coverage extension until the start of the new plan year on Jan. 1, 2011, some young adults could be left uninsured.

Researchers who studied nearly 3,600 middle-school students found that children who were sometimes or frequently permitted by their parents to watch R-rated movies are more likely to engage in early alcohol use than those who were forbidden to watch such films. "The research to date suggests that keeping kids from R-rated movies can help keep them from drinking, smoking and doing a lot of other things that parents don't want them to do," the study's author said.